Junta Uses 500,000 MMK Incentive to Recruit Displaced Persons in Sittwe

In Sittwe, which remains under the control of the military commission, junta forces are visiting Buddhist monasteries housing internally displaced persons (IDPs) to recruit them into the military using financial incentives.

Junta personnel have been entering these IDP shelters and offering 500,000 MMK per person to anyone willing to enlist.

A Sittwe resident explained that the military commission is exploiting the desperate situation of the displaced population, who have no steady income during a time when the entire city is blockaded and commodity prices are skyrocketing. The resident noted that the military intends to use financial enticements to send these vulnerable people to the front lines.

"They are running out of troops willing to die for them, so they are taking advantage of the hardships faced by displaced people. Enlisting in the military right now is essentially a death sentence," the local resident said.

In recent months, the military commission has also been conducting guest registration checks at monasteries and IDP camps across Sittwe, using these operations to arbitrarily arrest, torture, and forcibly conscript innocent civilians.

Similarly, earlier this month in Kyaukphyu, local sources reported that military intelligence units—formally known as Military Affairs Security (MAS)—have been targeting youths over the age of 16. The authorities are trying to persuade them to join the intelligence department by promising significantly higher salaries than standard civil servants.

At present, the military commission is attempting to expand its naval front and launch continuous artillery strikes and ground offensives in neighboring Pauktaw, Ponnagyun, and Rathedaung townships. However, the Arakan Army (AA) has successfully contained the military's various operations, and public services and administrative mechanisms continue to function stably across AA-controlled territories.